


Saving Her

by dylanobemineforever



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: tom holland - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-07-30 13:10:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20097748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dylanobemineforever/pseuds/dylanobemineforever
Summary: Mistakes were made, friendships jeopardized and hearts broken. His best friend had just lost her father and despite wanting to be there for her, his secret identity didn’t make it easy for him. This was the last straw for her, after all the lies and constant scheming, she couldn’t take it anymore and cut ties with her best friends Ned and Peter. Despite the fact that she didn’t want anything to do with them anymore, Peter couldn’t leave this thing alone, especially after realizing that she was anything but fine. When he finds out about what she caught herself up in he finds himself in a dangerous game of love, destruction and heartache…





	Saving Her

Peter watched her from afar. Her head was buried in her book. She had headphones in, trying to avoid as much social interaction as she possibly could. The food before her untouched and the bags underneath her eyes painfully noticeable, even from this distance. Everything he wanted to do was get up and talk to her. Apologize for the hundredth time in a row and admit to being the shittiest friend in the universe. Again. He wanted to jump on one of the tables in the cafeteria and scream on the top of his lungs: “Listen everyone! I’m Spider-Man!”, just so he could finally explain why things have been the way they’ve been. But, of course, he knew he couldn’t do that. Wouldn’t do that.

It’s been so hard watching her, seeing how she fell apart a little more every day. And there was nothing he could do or say to fix it. And how bad he wanted to fix this. Never before has he felt so helpless. He was out there every day, fighting criminals and bad guys. He was there on the battlefield and fought Thanos for Christ’s sake! He has been to space, has been erased from existence altogether and still… never has he felt so useless, empty and hopeless. How could he ever make up for what he did to her? How would she ever be able to forgive him?

_“Where’s Peter?” Was her first reaction upon opening her apartment door. Ned, Peter’s and her friend since the beginning of middle school, waited in the hallway, alone, clad in a black shirt and jeans, head hanging low as he looked down to his feet and mumbled something, not being able to look into her red and puffy eyes. “Where’s Peter, Ned?” Her voice cracked. Ned felt his heart stop for a second, before it picked up its pace again. Finally, he looked up and instantly he wished he hadn’t. Her eyes were red and nearly swollen shut, new tears already forming in her eyes as the realization hit her that the person she needed the most that day wouldn’t be there for her. Today out of all days. She wore a black dress that normally would’ve looked really good on her, but right now, everything Ned could see was how thin she’s gotten and he briefly wondered when she last ate something. Oh, how he hated this. Seeing her like that, not being able to do anything to take any of the pain away and then on top of that he had to be the bearer of bad news. Oh, how he hated this. _

_“He… Peter, uh, he… “ Ned stammered, the words stuck in his throat. “He… he won’t make it. I’m sorry, Devon.” _

_She looked at him in disbelief, waiting for him to tell her that he was joking, although this really wasn’t the time to make jokes. Forcefully, she shook her head, unwilling to believe a word her friend had said. “What – what do you mean ‘he won’t make it’?” A bitter laugh escaped her mouth, as she continued to shake her head. “What on earth could he be doing that is more important than being here right now?” Her voice started shaking again, her lower lip trembling and it cost her all her strength to not fall down to her knees and sob like the mess she felt she was. “I – I told him… I told him I couldn’t do this…” More tears were rolling down her cheeks. “Not without him.” _

_Ned gulped. He’d never understand why Peter was so adamant to keep her in the dark. Granted, he didn’t tell Ned either and probably wouldn’t have if he hadn’t caught him sneaking into his room and crawling along the fucking ceiling! Peter didn’t want anyone else to know though and although Ned might not really get why, he respected his best friend too much to disregard his wishes. “I’m really sorry, Devon.” _

_“So, what is it then, Ned? What is he doing?” Suddenly, her voice didn’t sound as fragile anymore. It was still shaking, but it had a different ring to it than before. She was pissed. _

_“I- I don’t know… Uh, he… he just told me, he wasn’t feeling so well… A stomach bug or something.” Ned winced, this had to be the dumbest excuse. He wished he would’ve put more thought into it beforehand. The truth was, right after Ned and Peter closed the door behind them, on their way to her place, he got his weird Peter tingle or whatever it was – Ned didn’t really get it – and despite his first attempts of ignoring it he couldn’t anymore as he saw that not far from his apartment a building stood in flames, people screaming and crying. There was no way, he could ignore that. He had to help. _

_She laughed again which made Ned’s skin crawl. He’s never seen her like this. “A stomach bug?” She asked, fake amusement in her voice. “And that would make… I don’t know… twenty this month alone? Either something is seriously wrong with him and he should go and see a professional immediately or, and this is the more plausible explanation to me, you two are full of shit!” She got hold of the door behind her, took a step back and was ready to slam it shut, but Ned was quicker. Firmly, he planted his foot in the doorway, so she wouldn’t be able to close it. _

_“Listen, Devon, I’m sorry, I really am, but don’t shut me or Peter out like this… not now.” Of course he could understand her anger. He wouldn’t know how he’d react if he was in her position. _

_“No Ned, you listen! I don’t know what it is that Peter is involved in or why you always cover for him, but I sure as hell know that this isn’t how friends treat each other! You can tell Peter that I don’t wanna see him, hear from him or ever talk to him again, understood?! Same goes for you and now leave me alone!” _

_Ned was taken aback by her words. A wave of hurt crashing down on him as he slightly stumbled backwards and therefore gave her the opportunity to shut the door – forcefully. The echo ringing in his ears for a little while, as he stood there in the hallway, dumbfounded and completely lost. What was he supposed to do? He couldn’t leave her alone. Not at a time like this. On the other hand, though, she’s already been through too much for him to not respect her wish to be alone right now. He really didn’t know what to do. After a little back and forth he called Peter, but he didn’t pick up. With a heavy heart he walked down the hall and left the apartment complex. _

Peter contemplated his options again. Should he just go over? What would she do? Painfully, he was taken aback to one of the worst days of his life.

_Right when Peter finally made it, it was her turn to go up on the small podium. He breathed out a sigh of relief, glad that he hadn’t missed it. She had told him over and over again that she wouldn’t be able to do this if he wasn’t there. He helped her with her speech and they practiced under tears. Blissfully unaware of what had happened only a few hours ago, he searched the mass of people with his eyes in the hopes to find Ned. He didn’t, though. He wondered where his best friend could be right now, but as soon as the microphone beeped and someone cleared their throat, his attention was shifted in her direction again. Her eyes scanned the mass of grieving people carefully, throat feeling drier than ever before. Her tongue like sandpaper in her mouth. She opened her mouth, ready to get this over with as she saw… him – Peter. Suddenly, every thought vanished and she felt like she was about to throw up. The eyes of the other people looked at her expectantly and she knew that she had to give them something, although, everything she wanted to do right now was run away. Far, far away and never come back. _

_She cleared her throat again. “So, uh, I – I prepared a speech, but, uh…” Her eyes filled with tears yet again. Oh, how she hated having to cry all the time! “But, standing up here now… I don’t know… It feels like there aren’t really any fitting words to say, no matter how much thought I put into them before.” She let her eyes wander over the crowd, but careful to avoid Peter at all costs. She gulped before she continued: “When my father first got his diagnosis neither one of us really knew what to do or say. You never expect it to hit you or someone close to you. It’s like… We know that thousands of car crashes happen every day, but never can we imagine that one day, we’ll sit in one of those cars. Oftentimes, we forget how precious life truly is and now that he’s gone…” New tears were rolling down her cheek, but she quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand. “And now that he’s gone, I realize that there is so much that I wish I would’ve said to him. And that he won’t be here for so many more milestones in my life. He used to always be the first person I would call or talk to when something important happened and now… thinking that he won’t be here to see me graduate, go to college or walk me down the aisle one day… it just… it feels so surreal, like, I’m underwater and the minute I get back up to the surface again he’ll be there and make all my worries disappear. But, of course, I now this won’t happen.” A sigh fell from her lips and it took her a while to gather her thoughts and the strength to continue. “I really don’t know what to say… Nothing I could say or do right now would do him and the love I had for him justice. So, all there really is left to say is…” Another deep breath in the hopes of getting her quivering voice under control. It didn’t really help. “I love you, dad. I really do hope that you’re in a better place now, that one day, we might meet again and I can tell you great stories about the things that you’ve missed. You really were the best dad anyone could’ve ever wished for. Thank you for always being there for me.” _

_Peter waited for her after the ceremony. She was talking to her mother and occasionally looked over to him. To him it felt like she was contemplating whether she should go to him or not. After a little back and forth, though, she said goodbye to her mother and walked towards him. _

_“Hey, I –“ _

_She interrupted him. “Peter, what are you doing here?” Her tone wasn’t angry or unfriendly. To him it sounded like she was tired, exhausted. Looking at her face, how her eyes were ridden with red veins, he guessed that she didn’t have a good night’s sleep in weeks. _

_Peter frowned. “What do you mean ‘what are you doing here’? Of course I’m here.” _

_“You were late…” _

_“I – uh-“ _

_She interrupted him again. “Ned said that you wouldn’t make it…” _

_Again, Peter stammered. Unsure of what to say, he tried to shift the attention away from himself. “Speaking of Ned… Where is he?” _

_“I sent him home earlier.” She shrugged and suddenly it felt like the energy around them had shifted. Peter couldn’t really pinpoint what it was or what had changed, but he felt that something was off. Very, very off. _

_“Why – why would you send him home?” _

_She answered his question with another. “Where were you, Peter?” Having cried for the last few weeks with seemingly no end in sight, she at least tried to suppress them this time. She turned her head to look up the cloudy sky as she tried to compose herself. “And please, for the sake of god, please, don’t lie to me!” _

_Should he tell her the truth? Right now? No, this wasn’t right. This wasn’t how he wanted for her to find out. Although, he hadn’t told Ned anything about it yet, but Peter had been planning on telling her all about his secret second life and identity. He was working on a detailed plan, so that she’d be able to digest it better. In all honesty, he had a hard time figuring out how she would react which made configuring the plan a little harder… ergo the reason why he hadn’t done it yet. All this time, he had been too afraid to tell her, because he didn’t want to lose her as a friend. Although, deep down he knew that this was stupid, because why couldn’t they be friends after this, right? Still, he chickened out time and time again. Maybe also because there was something else that he wanted to get off his chest for a very long time now, but hadn’t gotten a chance to say it aloud. Well, technically, he’s said it aloud a million times, practicing in his room, in front of the mirror and one time May actually caught him and the next thing he knew they were both having ice cream while he was spilling his heart out about the girl that he liked since seemingly forever. He was eleven back then and they both had known each other for not even a year, but to him it felt like he already knew that she was the one he was supposed to be with. Well, since then, a lot had changed. Not only the fact that he had become a superhero, but also every single thing that has led up to this exact moment. And this moment right there, was not the time for him to come forward. She had just lost her dad. She was grieving and it wouldn’t be fair to her if he’d burden her with even more on top of that. So, no, he couldn’t tell her the truth… “I was… I was, uh… There, there was this thing that I needed to take care of, but I came as fast as I could, Dev.” _

_She mulled his response over in her head for a few minutes, not really knowing what to do or say next. This was hard. But she also knew that she couldn’t take this any longer. Today, out of all days, was the one time that she so desperately needed him like she never needed him before. There was a hole that was burning its way through her world, sucking everything in and leaving her cold and alone. Somehow, only Peter had been able to fill that void ever since her father died. He made her feel warm and protected, made her see the sun even though it hid behind a thick layer of clouds. He was the only thing that she needed today and although he did show up – the very last second – she felt like he had abandoned her during a time of need. And somehow she wasn’t sure if she could forgive him for that. Not only that, but the constant lying and scheming behind her back… She just couldn’t take it any longer. “So, there was a thing…” _

_“Yes, I’m really sorry!”_

_“Weird, because Ned told me you had a stomach bug…” Peter opened his mouth to say something, but she held her finger up in the air, signaling that she wasn’t done yet. “I’m so sick of this, Peter! I’m sick of the lying. I’m sick of you never showing up! I’m sick of it! And as I already told Ned, for the time being I think it’s best if we all just go our separate ways.” _

_“What… I – Devon, please let me explain…” _

_“No, Peter. You had your chance and I don’t wanna hear any more excuses! This is it! I’ve had enough and I don’t wanna see you, I don’t want to talk to you and I sure as hell don’t want any more stories! So, please, I’m begging you, just leave me the hell alone!” Her lip started to tremble. Peter wanted to reach out, grab her arm as she turned around and walked away, but he didn’t. Instead he just watched her disappear in the distance as his heart started to feel heavier with every other step she took. And then it started to pour. _

“Peter, it’s getting creepy.” Ned nudged his friend. Peter jolted upright in his seat, taken back to reality.

“Do you think I should go talk to her?”

Ned sighed. He hated this. For the last three weeks he had to watch his best friend being heartbroken over the girl he loved since forever and his other best friend suffering alone. He had tried to talk to her after Peter’s miserable attempts of making up for what he did, but she didn’t even want to talk to him. He was worried, deeply worried, but on the other hand he didn’t want Peter to cause a scene in front of the whole school. “Maybe some other time. I don’t think she would appreciate you doing that right now.”

Sadly, Peter nodded. “Do you know how she’s doing though? Is she making new friends? How is she?”

Ned knew something, but he hadn’t told Peter anything about it yet. He wouldn’t like it.

“I know that look, Ned… What is it! Spit it out!”

After Ned debated whether to tell Peter what he knew, someone approached her and immediately Peter’s head snapped in her direction. The words Ned wanted to say, left in his throat as he saw who it was. Nate Gibson. Peter’s brows furrowed as he watched him sit down next to her. Right away she pulled her headphones out and a shy smile crept onto her face.

“Did you know about this?”

Ned shrugged. “I just wanted to tell you.”

“Well, you should’ve told me sooner!” Peter’s voice was a little higher than usual. He was on edge. “You know who this guy is!”

“Yeah, and trust me I tried to talk to her, but she wouldn’t listen! What am I supposed to do? Beat some sense into her?”

Peter rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help but think ‘if that’s what it takes’… because, you see, Nate… well, Nate was the type of guy no one would want their daughter – or son – hanging around with. He was popular, sure, but aside from his rep as the guy who threw a party every other weekend, he was also the guy known to be involved in… there really was no easier way to say this… drugs. And if Devon – who, by the way, used to despise the guy – was all of a sudden this close to him, Peter couldn’t help but think that maybe she’s caught herself up in something that she would’ve better left untouched.

“You know what this means, Ned!” Peter was ready to bolt out of his seat and give this son of a bitch a piece of his mind. Ned held him down, though. And although it would’ve been more than easy for Peter to fight himself out of his friend’s grip, he didn’t.

“We don’t know anything yet.” Ned tried to calm his best friend down. “I’ve been talking to a few people, asking if they know anything… no one did. So, you can’t run over there and make wild accusations. Imagine how this would make her feel, if it isn’t true! We have to be one hundred percent sure if we wanna do something about it. Got it?”

Peter hated to admit it, but Ned was right. If he went over to her with nothing but a hunch, she’d probably hate him for the rest of her life. No, they had to be smart about it. But how the hell were they supposed to do that?

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback would be highly appreciated!


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